You might be feeling a little uneasy or stressed out about the upcoming busyness of December. It's usually a time when businesses want their end of year reports, clients want things done by Christmas and the social calendar is full to the brim.

Some would call this stressful.

After last month's newsletter, which talked about fatigue and stress, this month will focus a little more on stress itself.

We also have a new blog post to share and a couple of updates from the clinic.

The Myth of Stress

Last month mentioned how fatigue and stress do very similar things to our brain. This month, we are exploring 'The Myth of Stress'.

American psychologist Andrew Bernstein has written a book with this very title, which turns traditional thinking about stress upside down..

You see, the common perception of being stressed out goes something like this:

There are things that are inherently stressful

Experiencing these things leads to being stressed

When you are stressed you need to take measures to relax

Bernstein has challenged this notion with the simple premise:

The same event does not stress everyone equally, or even at all.

If this is the case, how can something be inherently stressful?

Therefore being stressed is a state we bring upon ourselves via our thoughts about a certain event or situation.

An example he uses is public speaking. Many people fear public speaking, and the mere thought of doing so brings them into a highly stressed out state. However, there are many other people who love public speaking, who thrive on it and who get excited by the prospect of standing in front of an audience to present.

So practically, this means if we can change our thoughts about something, we will change our feelings about it too.

A commonly known technique used by psychologists to do this is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT.

The beauty of this, is that we can make our lives instantly better, with the right insight. CBT is also quite helpful for people who suffer from chronic pain, who have developed many negative thoughts and feelings around it.

If you are interested in reading more about The Myth of Stress, you can check out these 3 articles by Andrew Bernstein, which also mention his book of the same name: